State PIRGs go to Washington for Consumer Lobby Day

Members of Congress hear repeatedly from lobbyists for corporate special interests in their offices and at fundraisers. How can consumer advocates balance the scales?

Members of Congress hear repeatedly from lobbyists for corporate special interests in their offices and at fundraisers. How can consumer advocates balance the scales?

On May 8, PIRG staff organized hundreds of consumer advocates to lobby on the hill for Consumer Lobby Day—which we sponsored with other leading consumer organizations, including Consumer Reports, Public Citizen and others. Together, we urged lawmakers to defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) from special interest attacks and hold the bureau’s current leadership accountable.

“Under recent leadership, the CFPB has failed to fulfill its core mission—it has sought to reduce the burden on industry at the expense of consumers, and it has neglected to enforce the law,” said U.S. PIRG’s Ed Mierzwinski. “The CFPB must return to its critical role of protecting consumers.”

Organizing Consumer Lobby Day is just one way in which our advocates are standing up for the public interest.

Read Ed’s blog.

Photo: Left to right: U.S. PIRG’s Ed Mierzwinski, MASSPIRG’s Janet Domenitz, longtime consumer champion Joan Claybrook, and MASSPIRG’s Deirdre Cummings attend Congressional Consumer Lobby Day. Photo Credit: Staff

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